SPORT: Giants’ Odell Beckham trashed by Panthers DBs Josh Norman, Cortland Finnegan after game

Josh Norman, Odell Beckham Jr.’s nemesis, needed a moment. He stood at his locker stall to dress following Carolina’s 38-35 win over the Giants, and wanted to make himself perfectly clear. For 60 minutes, he had engaged in a game-long exchange of violent blows with Beckham. Officials flagged Beckham Jr. for three personal fouls — all for unnecessary roughness — but never ejected him.

Norman returned shoves on a number of plays at the line of scrimmage, and shouted, “F--- him! He’s a b----!” as he ran off the field.

Now, he checked his cuff links, corduroy tie and overcoat before letting out a quick sigh. He detailed the helmet-to-helmet blow that Beckham delivered to Norman’s head. 

“The guy ran 15 yards down the field — a dead on collision,” Norman said. “The play was all the way on the left side. He came back and was hunting. It was malicious in every way. I hope the league offices get a chance to review the film and see what they can do, because players like that don’t deserve to be in the game. I mean it’s ridiculous.”

Norman took the full measure of Beckham as a competitor. He noted that the second-year wideout liked to “dance around and prance around like you’re a ballerina” during warmups. He got to gauge Beckham’s speed in the opening series, watching as Beckham beat him deep but failed to haul in a ball that should have been caught for a TD. Beckham tapped his chest and signaled to the crowd that the blown opportunity was his fault, but he remained unbowed.

 

Norman noted that he did not follow Beckham inside on slot routes, but they met time and again. Beckham repeatedly struck his counterparts’ helmets, pressed his hands against their facemasks and took swings after whistles blew. Panthers cornerback Cortland Finnegan took exception. Beckham bristled.

Norman continued to cover him closely en route to his team going up 14-0.

“I hope I pulled back the mask on who this guy really is,” Norman said.  

Finnegan, a controversial figure who carries the label of dirty player to every field he takes, fingered Beckham for inappropriate tactics. Finnegan’s neck was reddened from scratches as he sat on his stool with his back to the rest of the locker room. He insisted that he was in “awe” of the fact that Beckham was allowed to remain in the game. He offered, “Any other defensive guy would have been thrown out.

“Some things are uncalled for. Some things are out of the context of football,” Finnegan said. “Once those things start to happen you kind of ask, what’s really going on?”

Finnegan continued. He tried to trace the reason for Beckham’s behavior: “He may have something in his blood, you know. Maybe it’s female related. That’s the only thing I could think of.”

Norman narrowed his focus as the game wore on. The Panthers pounced on the Giants to build a 35-7 lead, but the Giants rallied and Beckham built up momentum. His lone contribution in the first half had been to draw a pass interference flag on All-Pro linebacker Luke Kuechly. Beckham did not catch a pass until the third quarter when he gained three yards on a play. Five plays later, Norman was there to tackle Beckham following a five-yard gain.

❗️❗️❗️RT @WorIdStarComedy: pic.twitter.com/mILhDLpe7S

— *Joshua R. Norman (@J_No24) December 20, 2015

Beckham then threw Norman’s leg off him and was flagged for that. The Giants lost 15 yards on the play, but the offense rebounded. Eventually, the Giants scored on an eight-yard pass. “Very crazy football game,” Panthers coach Ron Rivera said. “They fought to the very end.”

Beckham trained over the summer to prepare himself for rough play. He was taught by MMA enthusiast Jay Glazer to continuously strike defensive backs’ in the forearms with closed-fist punches. That was at the Unbreakable Performance Center on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood. Norman declared himself harder than that. He trained for moments against top competitors with discipline. “I think he’s in a dark place,” Norman said. “I think he kinda got the message and went inside.”

Beckham beat Norman one final time in the end zone. The two were matched up one-on-one to the left side when the Giants looked to tie the score. Manning found Beckham for a 14-yard touchdown. Beckham put a double move on Norman, and Norman pushed him to the outside.

Beckham caught the ball, and Norman waved for a flag to be thrown as Beckham stomped emphatically away from him to celebrate.

That knotted the score, but there was 1:46 left on the clock. The Panthers proved victorious with a field goal as time expired.

“Very disappointed in ourselves,” Rivera said. “We had an opportunity to close a team out and we didn’t do it. Why? Because we didn’t keep our composure.”

Norman was the last Panther to depart the visiting locker room. He pulled his luggage past discarded toe warmers and chewed orange slices. He picked up a box of chicken and Giants

cornerback Prince Amukamara greeted him by the exit. Norman signed an autograph for a fan. One shouted, “Safe flight back to Carolina!” Norman turned his head, smiled and said, “Thank you.”